SOUTHWEST PARK AREA

AUGUST 7, 2007, PLANNING BOARD HEARING TO CONTINUE ON S.W. REDEVELOPMENT AREA STUDY.

On May 16, 2007, the Superior Court of Hudson County ruled in favor of the southwest residents finding that that the City had violated the procedures of the Redevelopment Law in designating the southwest area a redevelopment area.

On July, 16, 2007, the Planning Board started re-doing the process of area designation by holding the hearing to determine if the southwest properties meet the criteria for redevelopment. The hearing will continue on August 7, 2007 at 7pm in City Hall. Don’t miss it. Time to demand the 6 acre park identified in the Master Plan for the southwest.

THIS AREA IS IN THE 4TH WARD – COUNCILWOMAN ZIMMER

WESTSIDE PARK AREAS

WESTERN EDGE- 9th to 12th Street

JULY 18, 2007, CITY COUNCIL VOTED 6 TO 3 TO CREATE WESTERN EDGE REDEVELOPMENT AREA.

On July 18, 2007, the City Council Voted to designate eight blocks (11 acres) of property on the west side a redevelopment area called the Westside Redevelopment Area”. A large portion of this property is identified in the Hoboken Master Plan for park. The City has no history of using redevelopment areas to create parks. The vote was:

No surprise that Tarragon/ URSA is one of the largest campaign contributors to the City. No surprise that City Council people were meeting privately with Tarragon/URSA just days before they voted on this redevelopment area designation.

Tarragon/URSA wants the City to allow them to continue to build 12 stories all over the Westside Area. That is more then twice as high as the up-zoning the City already gave Tarragon/ URSA in the existing Northwest Redevelopment zone. By the way, the entire project got a tax abatement. And so continues the great developer giveaway. The only open space the community got out of that major upzoning in the Northwest Area was the Shop Rite parking lot gazebo.

THIS AREA IS IN THE 5TH WARD – COUNCILMAN CUNNINGHAM.

HENKEL SITE (12TH AND ADAMS)

This 6 acre Henkel Site is a vacant industrially zoned parcel on 12th between Madison/Adams is identified in the Master Plan for park. It is located just north of the Western Edge areas discussed above. It is one of the few large vacant parcels left in Hoboken that would be big enough to provide recreational field space for our residents (baseball, softball, soccer). No surprise that Tarragon/ URSA has recently bought up the property immediately west of the Henkel site-perhaps to continue their wall of high rise buildings along the entire Western Edge of Hoboken.

THIS AREA IS IN THE 5TH WARD- COUNCILMAN CUNNINGHAM

NORTH AND EAST PARK AREAS

PIER C PARK V. MAXWELL PLACE

On July 18, 2007, the City Council voted to spend an additional $1.7 million dollars of public funding on the Maxwell Place site which is just north on the waterfront from the future Pier C Park. This makes a total of $8.4 million dollars the City is expending to subsidize the waterfront walkway at the Maxwell Place high rise. This public money is paying for a portion of the walkway that Toll Brothers is required to fund privately under State regulations and Hoboken planning board approvals. This money could have covered the shortfalls at two public park projects in town – Pier C Park or 1600 Park.

PIER C IS IN THE 1st WARD- COUNCILWOMAN CASTELLANO MAXWELL PLACE IS IN THE 2ND WARD- COUNCILWOMAN MASON

1600 PARK/ COVE PARK

In January 2006, the City of Hoboken acquired the 1600 Park Avenue site in order to create a new park. This parcel combined with the Hoboken Cove parcels could one day be a new waterfront park. If you live in northern Hoboken and care about the design of this park, there is a new resident group in town for you – “The Hoboken Green Coalition”. Join them in fighting for parks uptown. Check out their web site at: HobokenUGC.com.

i hope you SW Development people appreciate the amount of “Parks Awareness” effort i’m putting in here. for the record, i’ll never go to any park over ther until we get rid of the projects, i’m not stupid. but i figure if i can get some momentum going for your “flood zone swamp in the making” then perhaps it will help the Elysian and Steven’s parks, where i spend my time. but how about more of a voice you southside slackers? mabye a rally with free itunes downloads and some beer? know your audience right?